Media Mess 10

A brand new day, a brand new XBox360. Our reviews of some new video games, some new TV series, some new comic books.

 

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Media Mess 05

Recorded LIVE on ustream.com, Jeff and I talk with special guest Tuan about comic books, tv, some personal issues, some politics. Thanks to everyone that showed up and chatted with us!

 

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Media Mess 04

Recorded LIVE on ustream.com, Jeff and I talk about comic books, tv, some personal issues. Thanks to Keri, Tim, and Jon for chatting with us!

 

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Media Mess 03

Jeff and I talk about this and that, comic books and TV shows, college studies and XBOX Live. Enjoy!

 

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Media Mess 02

My brother Jeff joins me for this week’s installment. We talk mostly about comic books, a little Dark Knight, some gaming news. Enjoy!

 

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Thoughts on a Golden Compass

NOTE: My apologies for the extreme lateness of this post, but I did want to get it out there before I resume my inevitable Obama posting (I’ve got a couple floating around in my brain, so be warned!). Enjoy!

I love the universe (multiverse, really) that Philip Pullman created in the His Dark Materials trilogy of books. I first read The Golden Compass back during my second year of college and ever since then, I’ve dreamed of how a movie of it might be crafted. From what I’ve read of Chris Weitz, the director of the recently released rendition, this was very much his same experience with then novels. From the deamons, to the witches, to Scoresby’s balloon, Pullman’s worlds scream out for life! And in that way, at least, The Golden Compass movie succeeds in spades!

Here’s the problem. Unlike recent fantasy-novels-turned-movies, The Golden Compass‘ rich world was practically wasted. In the spectacular Lord of the Rings trilogy, Peter Jackson realized Tolkein’s Middle Earth in copious detail, and almost as importantly, he let us spend the time to absorb its wonder. The first couple Harry Potter movies did likewise, though it robbed them somewhat of the excitement and dramatic pacing in which the later movies in the series excelled. Even the first Chronicles of Narnia movie let us get comfortable a bit while still propelling us through the plot. The Golden Compass didn’t afford what seems to me to be a necessity - let the viewer have occasional moments to stop and smell the roses.

Other characteristics of the film bothered me too. I did not care for the way the director decided to visualize Lyra’s use of the titular compass. It seemed to be as lacking in process as just showing Lyra closing her eyes and treating it like a Ouija board. It was very super-model - pretty, but lacking in substance.

The soundtrack was so completely underwhelming that I felt it detracted from the emotional impact of the film instead of augmenting it, as a proper fantasy soundtrack should do (eg. the movies listed above). Without this, many moments didn’t have quite the same emotional punch that it should have had. I didn’t recognize the composer’s name, but given the film’s budget and high hopes of success, they really should have paid extra for a Howard Shore, Harry Gregson-Williams, or even the totally underrated Brian Tyler (eg. his Children of Dune score is A-MAZ-ING!).

All of this said, please pick it up on DVD, HD-DVD, or BluRay. I’m hoping that those sales, combined with its successes overseas, will convince NewLine to finish the trilogy, though perhaps with a few changes in the production team.

Why I Endorse Obama (and not Clinton)

I have absolutely nothing against Hillary Clinton as a person. I likewise believe that we’re way over-due as a country in having a woman lead us as President. That said, I reject what the last 16 years of our politics have left us with - divisions. I see Hillary Clinton, if elected, as bringing an extension of the same liberal vs. conservative conflict that we’ve endured since her husband’s time in the White House. Her political tactics are too strategic, too careful, too (dare I say the word) calculated for my taste, reminding me very much of her husband’s and more recently, those of one Karl Rove.

I have read/listened to Barack Obama’s two books, I have listened to several of his more rousing speeches, and I have read his much of his campaign platform. I agree with him completely on voting against the Iraq war, seeing it for what it was, a convenient extension on a justifiable war against terrorists that ultimately has led to far more death and destabilization in that region that would have resulted in a continuation of the existing containment policy. I agree with him that universal health care should not be mandated but provided by the government working within the free market. I want net neutrality, guaranteeing that our bits are treated as equals as they transit the internet and that no private company or government agency is allowed to suppress our speech or invade our privacy. I want an executive branch that is balanced by the two other branches and will strive to reach across the political aisle to find a consensus, not constantly and bitterly battle over politically useful issues.

I’ve campaigned for the first time over the last few weeks for Orlando4Obama, and it has been remarkably empowering! I’ve worked with men and women of all races, ages, religions, and orientations in this campaign, all of them “fired up” and “ready to go” for Obama. They all believe, as do I, that Barack Obama not only has the ability to beat any Republican opponent but also, once the election is behind him, lead us in restoring hope in the power of the people to make government better!

Get informed about the various candidates’ platforms, listen to what they have to say. Get excited about your chosen candidate, spread their word, and inform others. Don’t vote out of ignorance or choose the lesser of evils, get fired up! Yes we can take back government, but it will only happen if we all take ownership in making it better.

That’s what Obama has campaigned on, and that’s why I will continue to spread the word about him.

Smearing Obama

While I’m certainly more sensitive to smears against Obama than any other of the candidates, I still believe that Obama has had to handle more than his fair share of nasty misinformation. What blows my mind are that some of my friends and family have believed or even passed along these claims. Here are some of the more pernicious ones and their factual responses.

Obama is a secretive Muslim - He’s actually a Christian, not that it should matter.

Obama belongs to a blacks-only church - His church Trinity Church of Christ, though predominantly black, welcomes anyone regardless of their color.

Obama won’t support Israel - Obama has frequently acknowledged the importance of supporting Israel, though not without acknowledging the plight of the Palestinians.

Obama doesn’t have enough experience - Though this one is less a smear than a simple opinion, Obama has actually been an elected official for longer than Hillary Clinton.

Finally, here’s Obama himself speaking to a paper in Nevada. In lieu of reading and/or listening to his two books, this interview is an excellent snapshot capturing a little bit of why I support him over any other candidate.

Two Reasons to Smile

Both items above represent two important groups that I followed late in high school and throughout my time in college - Mystery Science Theater 3000 and the Squirrel Nut Zippers. The former of the two, MST3K, was a show on television that showcased different terrible movies each week, on top of which the show’s cast would add their own commentary. It ran for 11 years, starting out on a small, Minnesota public-access cable channel, quickly making its way to a then very young Comedy Central, and finally retiring on the SciFi channel.

The show ended its run in 1999, and its production team went off to make their ways. Mike Nelson, the show’s head writer and second main character (the show’s co-creator Joel Hodgson was its first) wrote a few mildly successful books, but eventually found his way back to movie commentaries with a little start-up called Rifftrax. Recently, a couple of his MST3K alumni joined him on that project, which provides mp3 audio commentary tracks for more well-known film and television projects (eg. 300, Lost, etc.).

Returning to their obscure (and usually terrible) cinematic roots, The Film Crew series will again unite their funny commentary with these gems of bad cinema. There first of a thus-far planned 4 DVD series is out now, and its a fantastic film from the 60’s called Hollywood After Dark starring…you’ll love this bit…a young Rue Mcclanahan as a starlet stripper!! The commentary is just as enjoyable as I remember it being with MST3K, and the movie is just as awful as many they showcased. If you enjoy making fun of bad movies, or just want to see what Blanch du Bois looked like back in the day, go check it out!

While you know what I was constantly watching back in my dorm days, you’re probably wondering what I listened to on my portable CD player whilst biking around UCF. The Squirrel Nut Zippers were one of my favorite swing/folk bands back in the 90’s when swing dancing was making a major comeback. They didn’t quite rise to the popularity level of say a Big Bad Voodoo Daddy or a Brian Setzer, but I loved them even more.

There music ranged from soulful, Billy Holiday-esque jazz to frenetic swing to unusual, experimental instrumental. There only pop-chart experience was with Hell, a song that I’ve now had the privilege to sing and play with my band on at least 3 occasions! I also was fortunate enough to catch one of their rare appearances in Orlando at the Social (then called the Sapphire Supper Club). They’re excellent musicians all around, both recording and performing, and now after a 7 year hiatus, they’re back touring again! Though they don’t yet have any new tracks being released, I’d gladly recommend any of the 5 albums currently out now (though my favorite is definitely Perennial Favorites pictured above).

So yeah, two great reasons to smile!

Nashville

A few weekends back, Patrick and I took a short trip up to Nashville, TN to attend the Loreena McKennitt concert at the Ryman Auditorium. While this trip might seem a tad extravagant, Loreena rarely tours (hasn’t toured in the US since before 1997) and has never before (since I started listening to her) performed further south than North Carolina. So yeah, this was pretty much a must.

While I had previously been to Nashville several times, this trip would be Patrick’s first experience of the city some call NashVegas. Given that we only had partial days both Friday and Saturday, I didn’t attempt to plan anything too extensive beyond the Ryman, its surrounding tourist strip, downtown Nashville, and a quick drive-by of the Gaylord/OpryLand complex. This was a mistake, though, because all of those can easily be “done” to a cursory extent in a short few hours. Even with a luxurious 4 hours of time until the concert, Patrick and I quickly found ourselves quite done with downtown Nashville in just under an hour.
So, we drove around, waited in some rather dense traffic, and with only our Garmin GPS as our guide, proceeded to seek out anything to pass the time. After only another hour or so of random driving, we eventually found our way to Vanderbilt University. It was next to its campus that we found a great way to spend at least an hour or so more - Borders Books and Music!

Why is it that I almost never leave a bookstore without having bought some new book, even though I currently have a ToRead pile that is easily an entire bookcase full? Thankfully, these days, I’m only scouring through the bargain bins looking for those gems that I had previously passed up. Of course, I found a few of those at the Borders in question - a few yaoi manga that I’ve been collecting and the new Tim Powers book, all at clearance price! Into the bookcase they go!

But I digress. After grabbing a bite at the cafe next door, we at last ventured over to the historic Ryman Auditorium. We were still about an hour early, so we could only walk around and check out the Ryman gift shop, buy a soda branded with the Ryman logo, and leaf through the various other trinkets proving to others that we were there. Loreena’s people also had a small shop upstairs, so of course we got in line and purchased a few concert items. Though I used to balk at the usually excessive prices for things like t-shirts and posters, I’ve since learned that the artists themselves actually get to keep a healthy percentage of those profits. Though Patrick wanted their tote bag (how very NPR/PBS of him), they were unfortunately out, so we left with her new concert DVD/CD and the Ryman-specific poster.

Not too long after the shopping, we finally got in to the auditorium itself. Our seats weren’t the best, but we had no problems seeing or hearing anything once the show began. I’ve attended many concerts over the years, but I can honestly say that Loreena and her band performed the most engrossing, musically proficient, and perhaps even spiritually enlightening I’ve ever witnessed personally. She doesn’t seem to tour much, but by all means catch her if you can. No opening act, just two hour-length acts full of happiness. Well, happiness by way of Celtic-world fusion music.

After the show, we decided to see if she would make an appearance behind the stage to greet the fans and sign autographs. Her program notes mentioned that this was a common practice, so I decided it was worth the potentially long wait. Thankfully, we got their almost first, because the crowd quickly grew past a number I would feel comfortable meeting with after performing a two hour concert!

When I met her, I told her of the long trip up from Florida, how she had inspired me to learn the folk harp, and asked her to sign my poster to both of us. I was a nervous wreck at this point, as expected, and concluded the brief meeting with a hug. A HUG! I rarely even hug friends and family, mainly from some long-gone awkward experience as a child hugging some stranger by accident. But I hugged Loreena, and we then quickly retreated to our car by way of the Nashville music drag.

The next day, we drove around looking at several area quilt stores. Patrick found a few interesting fabrics, some quilting notions, and gifts for his fellow quilters back home. We checked out the Grand Ol’ Opry shopping megaplex, mostly just for the shops. I was thrilled to find this huge monument to all things apples called the Apple Barn, and Patrick found some cool electric-powered tent system at the OutdoorWorld Outlet.

Our plane wasn’t leaving until 6ish, so after shopping for the entire morning, we were pretty much done with Nashville. Southwest didn’t, unfortunately, have any earlier available flights, so we drove around some more, stopping briefly by Cooter’s Place (aka the Dukes of Hazzard Museum), grabbing the traditional “meat and 3 sides” lunch at a rather rustically awful little dive, and winding up walking around the Nashville Zoo, which I did happen to enjoy more than the dreadful National Zoo in Washington, D.C. Someday, I too will have Red Pandas eating bamboo!

Nothing eventful happened on the way home, though I must admit that Nashville’s airport was pretty uninspiring in its selection of Hudson News stores and crappy food choices. We ate some reheated Uno’s pizza while watching the planes land before boarding the plane. The flight was uneventful, though we later found out it was that particular pilot’s first flight as the main pilot.

And that was how we spent our (brief) summer vacation…in April…so more spring than summer…you know what I meant.

And the Beat Goes On

This Valentine’s past was very special for at least one reason - I spent part of it at the cardiologist. For the past week, I had been experiencing what I later found out were called heart flutters, that is, noticeable, momentary fluctuations of my heart beat. They started the day after our small, fraternal alumni gathering for the Super Bowl and persisted throughout that week, culminating in a mild panic attack at my office that following Friday.

Panic began spreading when, after a short but eventful meeting with our auditors, I started to feel as if the left side of my face was slightly numb. Thankfully, I brought myself back from the brink of having a full-blown attack, and after lunch felt much less panicked. On Patrick’s urging, though, I decided to get checked out by a doctor before the weekend. At Centra Care, they gave me an EKG, which the doctor determined was almost completely normal. Based on the information I gave him, he determined that I should cut way back on my caffeine consumption and try to let go of the stress I had been gathering that week. Much relieved that I wasn’t having a heart attack, I went home, collapsed in the bathtub (as I like to do), and played some Hotel Dusk: Room 215 on my Nintendo DS.

The following Monday, I got in to see a cardiologist, who determined that I should have several tests run. The first started right away as I was fitted with a Holter monitor in a chest halter. The technician who fitted me encouraged me to eat a full dinner, complete with a cold dessert, drink several beers, and consume more caffeine that I normally would - all in the name of science! While I completely understand what she wanted to see with these requests, I could only humor her in part - I didn’t consume as much caffeine as I probably could have. Otherwise, I went through my normal nightly routines (sans bath, which sucked), logging each time I moved about or did anything that might cause my heart to react.

And now we’re back to Valentine’s, when I returned the Holter-in-a-halter and had a echo cardiogram. The technician assured me that, though he could not interpret the results, nothing seemed to serious to keep me there for immediate further testing or treatment. I will, unfortunately, have to go back this Friday for a stress test. While I’m not worried about getting my heart rate up by using the treadmill, I am not looking forward to hanging out at the cardiologist’s office for the better part of my Friday. Oh well, such occasions do allow me to burn through my backlog of podcasts. Thank God for the almighty iPod!

Otherwise, Valentine’s Day was quiet. I picked up food from the restaurant at which Patrick and I had our very first date. We ate it at home and caught up on some television, a very homebody Valentine’s (which was quite right, thank you). The audit has come and gone at work, resulting in only my lab getting a finished (and positive) evaluation. God’s in His heaven, all’s right with the world (well, at home anyway).

As a special treat (and hopefully a start to a semi-routine new feature), I have decided to start down a path of doing some audio recordings. I’ve been taken with all of the podcast excitement lately, and having been a long time listener (first time caller) to talk radio, I want to start doing my own dabbling. I don’t expect to turn out anything amazing, but if I can at least try a few things, perhaps even starting a regular podcast or three, I’ll be happy to have spent the time.

So to start us out, here’s a poem by on of my favorite authors. Its called Strange Music by G.K. Chesterton and is read here by me. Enjoy!

Comic Books and Monsoons

Its raining, and I love it. I was feeling kinda blue last week without any particular reason in my consciousness, but the rain really helped turn that around. I had the distinct pleasure on Sunday of sitting in my garage and just listening to the rain fall down above me. So far this week, the rain has continued, soaking into the greenscape around me, feeding the plants I have watched struggle to thrive in what should be their growing season. My thoughts are, of course, with those up north who are swimming around their cities to get around. For now, though, I hope the rain continues.

Tomorrow is Superman day at work. Many of us will be seeing the new movie in the early afternoon, which of course makes us all a bit giddy. Having seen what Brian Singer did with the X-Men series, I have high hopes for the studio that brought us the fantastic Batman Begins. Less than 12 hours away!

And now, I’m off to watch some Frontline. Good night, and good luck.

Miscellany

She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has released another book, and thus to help further her sales has said something rather naughty about 9/11 widows. Whether or not her thoughts on how victims can be afforded an unfair amount of protection for their political views is valid, she is definitely using a rather vulgar amount of rhetoric to advance her business interests (ie., sell more books). I think that this profitting off the statements about the 9/11 widows is unarguably more reprehensible than victims of any tragedy speaking out from their unique and unfortunate perspectives. On 9/11, we were not all widows, and we should respect those who were’s opinions for what they are - personal, passionate, and uniquely informing.

In better news, I had a beautiful moment at the airport Saturday night upon returning from DC where upon my mp3 player performed the Mark Isham’s title music from Crash at just the right moment. That track usually makes my hairs dance with delight anyway, but this combination of the right place (airport terminal) and the most sympathetic frame of mind (that post-disembarkment calm) with Isham’s glorious sweeping synths just about blew my mind. Music for Airports 2: Electric Boogaloo?

Speaking of global warming, I had the good fortune to find myself invited to see An Inconvenient Truth while up in Washington D.C.. Just as a warning, I have developed quite a fondness for our planet in the last 29 years of my life, so I might just have some bias when it comes to the issue of protecting it. I also cannot see the serious, long-term harm in being overcautious about the environment. Even if human society doesn’t contribute significantly to the trends seen in global warming (which would be against the vast majority of scientific findings), wouldn’t it just be safer to assume the worst and try to mitigate what we’re doing? I’m not going to go on about this other than to just suggest, whatever your opinion on the matter, to be more informed about the facts, whichever side they support.

Finally, as we all in Florida look incredulously at our weather reports (its only mid-June!!!), let’s talk about God (deities, man). I am reading such an interesting book on the development of God in the world’s major religions. A History of God by Karen Armstrong was my travelling companion last week on the flights to and from DC. I must admit that I’m a rather slow non-fiction reader and am thus only up through the first 100 pages, but even still I am receiving such a great refresher course in theology! I’ve always been fascinated with theology and used to study and argue it with my teachers at ye ol’ Protestant parochial school, but its been far too long since I last seriously tucked into it. Another post, perhaps, I’ll share with you some of what I’ve learned and relearned.

Reading

Last night, I finished Perelandraby C.S. Lewis, a book that I started back when my father was in the hospital. Perelandra is the second in Lewis’ Space Trilogy, the first of which is Out of the Silent Planet and is concluded with That Hideous Strength.

Unlike Lewis’ famous Chronicles of Narnia series, these books do not wrap elements of Christianity in metaphor. Rather, Lewis simply sets out to set several science-fiction journeys somewhat reminiscent of Verne and Wells in a universe consistent with his religious beliefs. What at first appears to be metaphor in Perelandra quickly reveals to be just another chapter in a story that both extends and closely parallels events in the Book of Genesis.

While I almost always enjoy seeing mythology and religion expressed in works of science fiction (eg. Wolfe, Chesterton, Tolkein, Gaiman, etc.), something about Lewis’ sometimes snarky and morally simplistic expositions doesn’t quite work for me. The narrator in these books are nowhere as pronounced as they are in the Narnia books, yet I can still clearly hear the author’s ideaologies chiming through almost like clockwork.

I love Lewis’ writing, I really do. His diction, turn of phrase, everything is just brilliant in its imagery and storytelling. I just get tired of him preaching at the expense of his imagination. Others have managed to slip ideas through in their stories without such a compromise, so its not as if it couldn’t be done. From what I’ve read, Tolkein even bugged Lewis about how transparent his metaphors were with Narnia, even though they shared each other’s Christian beliefs. Tolkein likewise managed to keep a decent amount of Christian imagery in his Lord of the Rings, painting from a vast palette of his imagination (with a little assist from existing mythology) and telling a fantastic story but without treading too heavily into his religion.

That all considered, I would gladly read Lewis over many, many others around today. His strong narrative voice has even made me appreciative of other authors like Lemony Snicket and Philip Pullman, demonstrating other layers to their works that without Lewis would go unnoticed. I haven’t yet even purchased the third book in the Space Trilogy, and a friend has warned me that its quite different in scope and style than the previous two. So long as Lewis’ wit and very British sensability is still there, I’m sure it will be fantastic.

Lazy Saturday

Whereas normally on Saturday I’d be outside working in the yard, today is a bit different. Maybe its the realization that tonight will be on hour less in length, perhaps its the fact that down here in central Florida its a humid 81�F outside. Perhaps I’m lazy today because Patrick and I are attending a crawfish boil at 3pm, leaving the better part of the afternoon unavailable for gardening.

Nah, its NPR that’s to blame. My local station WMFE has a fantastic Saturday line-up - from Morning Edition to Car Talk to Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me to the Arts Connection to This American Life to Living on Earth to Weekend America to All Things Considered to A Prairie Home Companion to Echoes to Hearts of Space - whew! True, I listen to this line-up even if I’m gardening, even if I’m trucking mulch back from Home Depot, even if I’m outside with my hands wrist-deep in muck. But I miss too much that way, moments during stories that I’ll never know, times when entire shows pass me by forever because of other committments…unless I download it later.

So yeah, I’m laying here on the couch, reinstalling World of Warcraft on Patrick’s laptop, listening to Ira. I’ve got crawfish at 3, perhaps some friends coming out for board games tonight. Life is good. Maybe for dessert tonight, I’ll fix up a chocolate-crusted edition of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline. This is in honor of this and this.

Winter Adventures

Its been an interesting, crazy month so far this January. New Year’s, as I previously mentioned, was spent out at the Cypress Cove Nudist Colony. I had gigs both New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, which left me quite exhausted for the balance of that weekend. Then, last weekend, we played again out at the Cove. Evidently, the next few months are kinda slow out there, but they fully intend for us to be out several times a month over the summer. Makes sense, I think.

Then in mid-January, I travelled up to our nation’s capitol for some work-related business, during which I got to visit with CJ & Alfred, Clara & Dick, Keri, and Tony and eat dinner at some awesome restraunts. I have to admit that if I were ever to desire a change in location, the greater Washington D.C./northern Virginia/southern Maryland area is quite appealing.

While up there, I found out that my digital music mentor Jerry Gardner had passed away quite unexpectantly. This left Jon (the other digital music instructor) and I quite shaken, particularly since Jon had just talked to him the night he passed away. But classes had to be covered, so we were both asked to share the effort. This added one extra class to my schedule, in addition to the other extra class we had begged the department to allow us to teach on computer music. So now, I’m up to teaching four classes at UCF in addition to my full-time obligation at NAVAIR. Fun stuff indeed.

At first I was scared I couldn’t handle it, but Patrick’s been supportive and offered to assist me with the outside-of-class obligations. He even met with my two musictech classes when I had to be out of town the first week of the semester. So now, it only seems overwhelming when I stop to think about it, which I subsequently try not to do.

Now for something completely geeky. I have been playing Final Fantasy 1 on the GBA (GameBoy Advance) for the last few weeks (well, since around Christmas), and I have to say that it really sucks. I never started with it but skipped ahead to FF 4 (the first on the SNES) which I absolutely adored. I think what discourages me about it is the incessant random battles throughout the dungeons, all of which contain random dead-end pathways. This was never my favorite component of the Final Fantasy series, at least not with the early battle systems. I think it wasn’t until FF6 that I started to enjoy customizing my characters more, and that certainly got insanely fun around FF10. Nevertheless, I will finish this game just to say that I’ve done it. Then, its on to finish FF5-FF10, none of which I ever completed. Yeah, I might finish before the end of civilization.

Ah, almost out of time. I have absolutely no time to talk about how great Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events is, both the bothersome books and the frightening film. Absolutely no time to talk about the wonders of Lost, the same-ness of Alias and 24, and the intelligence of the new Battlestar Galatica. Oh, and I can’t even begin to speak about Graham Norton, the old poof who I’ve terribly ripped off in this last paragraph.

On the Lighter Side

I have discovered several new diversions to make me smile. If you’re interested in what those are, feel free to read on!

Equilibrium

First whole day back from travel, I managed to straighten up the bedroom, mow the backyard, clean up the pool, and move the books and bookcases out of the office. Anything to avoid finishing up my paper and studying for my final final on Wednesday.

Now I’m watching Equilibrium, an oft-overlooked addition to the canon of distopian books and film. How many other such works can you name?

Award Shows and Apocalypse

This week was almost bookended by two award shows of vastly different quality. The first was the Tonys and aired this past Sunday, capping of our Gay Days BBQ. I haven’t watched too many Tony Award shows in the past, but from what I’ve seen this had to be the best in many years. Host Hugh Jackman was spectacular as a host and even more fantastic portryaing Paul Allen in The Boy from Oz. In addition to that, there were two other fantastic performances - one by the cast of Wicked and the other by the cast of Avenue Q. Ah, if only I had money to burn. We’d be up in New York seeing any of these in a heartbeat.

The Book of the Long Sun by Gene Wolfe

Gene Wolfe is the finest writer of modern, American literature alive today. Period. This is a statement of reality that scholars are slowly coming to realize, as they did in the early days of Tolkein, Lewis, Clarke, and Herbert (among many others). In less than a century, Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun, Book of the Long Sun, and Book of the Short Sun will stand out with Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings and Herbert’s Dune series as the most important epics of science fiction ever written.

I have just completed reading the New Sun and the Long Sun series for the second time. Even still, I find myself needing to go back and reread passages a dozen times to extract all the subtle meanings and allusions that Wolfe throws out. Long Sun is especially dense because of the immense cast of priests, gods, robots, thieves, soldiers, and whores that comprise its dramatis personae. Thankfully, Wolfe has provided a listing of the characters and brief descriptions in each book. Even so, navigating the sometimes seemingly capricious narrative flow seems an impossible challenge. But it can be done and even enjoyed. And it is soooo worth it!!

Long Sun deals with the story of a generation starship and it’s “cargo” of “bios” and “chems” on their way to another world. In this “whorl” inside the starship, a religion has been established in which the people pray and sacrifice animals to the “gods” who built and run the whorl. This system seems to be running well until the real God enlightens a local augur to seek out the truth beyond the whorl. It is this priest’s saga that plays out in the Long Sun books (Nightide, Lake of the, Calde of the, and Exodus from the Long Sun).

Wolfe examines themes of religion, spirituality, war, and destiny in this epic work. This alone would not distinguish Wolfe from the myriad of other authors who have dealt with similar themes. It is, however, Wolfe’s amazing style and command of mythology and mysticism that truly establish Wolfe as the imminent author of science fiction today. Now, I’m looking forward to digging in to the sequel series Book of the Short Sun. I’m sure that I won’t be disappointed.